Sinn's Story
by White Iguana
Summary: The story of Sinn, a wanted bangaa criminal, who soon becomes an unwilling participant in a incredible adventure. Rated T for some language and violence.
1. Disturbance At The Black Widow

Chapter 1

It was a rather windy October evening, when Sinn went to his favorite pub in Sprohm, the Black Widow. It was a quieter pub, filled with many strange and diverse patrons, a lot of them operating outside the law. It suited Sinn perfectly. The forty year old bangaa was a very irritable and didn't like to be disturbed. He was of medium build, and always had a bit of a mysterious air hanging about him. He had a long scar that crept up from his ear and ran right across his forehead. He wasn't unusually muscular, but in his opinion it wasn't muscles that won a battle. It was wits and speed, as long as the bangaa had both in his favor, he could never lose. As he settled into his favorite corner he could tell that something strange was in the air tonight.

He looked about at the odd groups gathered in the pub, catching pieces of their conversations. He caught the word "judge" and "law" a few times muttered from the groups. As he ordered his drink from the bar maid, he noticed a few of the palace guards enter into the bar. _This doesn't look good, _he thought, keeping his eyes locked on the group patrolling just north of his table. Expertly, he slipped out from the table, keeping his head low and marching indirectly towards the door. He was nearly out, but things had not been going well for the bangaa that week, and today was no exception. As he was exiting, the bar maid called to him "Sir, you forgot your drink!" _Damn,_ he thought, (not for the first time either) _my age is catching up to me._

He ran out the door, knocking the bar maid out of the way. He knew it wouldn't be long before his palace friends would be after him. Maybe he should have stayed away from that last job, oh well, too late for complaints now. Besides, the pay was too good to pass up, especially with the number of new clans forming and fewer jobs available.

"Halt!" A commanding voice came from behind him. Halting wasn't the first thought that came to Sinn's mind. The first was, bolt for the alley behind the pub, run down 49th street and take the left alley till you get to the junction of Stardust and Tupper. From there, weave back and forth for the next five blocks, and check in safely to The Scarlet. (Another of Sinn's favorite pubs, sure not to be trespassed upon by the palace. Hell, if they even showed their faces in there, the scum of the city would hunt them down in a drunken rage.) But then, perhaps because of his age, though really because he was sick of running, he stopped.

He turned around, keeping his head hidden in his dark blue cloak. "Are you the one they call, Marché?" The leader of the guards called. Sinn smiled, the guards were hunting someone other then him today. Perhaps they did not yet know about the weapons that he pilfered from the castle armory. "No," he replied. "Just a humble traveler, seeking refuge for the night." "Well a humble traveler wouldn't mind showing his face to prove the truth." _Uh oh,_ Sinn thought. _Ah well, boring conversation anyway._ He lowered his hood and all but the leader gasped in shock. Sinn had a bit of a reputation. Actually, a bit would be a major understatement.

"Bangaa!" (Sinn chuckled later on, when he realized that he had avoided using his name.) "You are about to pay for all of your crimes which have been long past due!"

Sinn glanced at the judge appearing out of the corner of his eye. That was the moment he'd been waiting for. As soon as he saw the judge he dashed towards the leader. There were seven guards in all. The leader looked skilled but not extremely intelligent. If he was just a bit more intellectual, he would've backed down the moment he knew who he was faced with. Sinn was unarmed, and appeared to be of no threat at all. Looks can be deceiving. Sinn was right in front of the leader even before he knew they had started. He grabbed the unprotected throat of his opponent, crushing it, twisted his sword arm in a direction it was never meant to go, and impaled him upon his own weapon. He threw the body, sword and all at the six other guards who were all bunched together, toppling them all like bowling pins. That was too much for the rest of them. This bangaa had single handedly defeated their leader before he even had a chance to react! The guards ran for all they were worth. Sinn smiled. _Fear did wonders to turn a fight in your favor,_ he thought.


	2. Sulrod Erim

Chapter 2

Sinn looted the body of the dead/unconscious leader of the guards and found some gil, which he pocketed. He then took the leader's sword. Sinn himself never used weapons, (he found them unreliable, and said that only a fool would trust their life to a weapon.) but being in the field for some time had taught him which weapons fetch a fair price at the local pawn shop.

He wasn't sure if the leader was really dead. They always came back though, the judge made sure of that. Which always meant more work for Sinn, no sooner did you kill someone that they came back, looking for revenge. He hoped this man had learned his lesson and wouldn't mess with him again. (Actually he didn't really care about the man by himself; he cared more about the new number of guards he would bring with him if he did decide to have an encore.)

Truth to be told, Sinn had never actually killed anyone. He stayed away from jagds, not that he wouldn't go there if a job became available with the right kind of compensation. He just preferred not putting his own life on the line. He'd never been caught yet, and didn't want to, but he still would rather be alive if he failed a mission. His business finished, he left the body for the judge, not bothering to carry the cheap armor, and departed for his makeshift home.

On the way, he pawned off the weapon to a local moogle he knew. Sinn hated moogles. That didn't matter though, because Sinn hated almost everyone. He headed for St. James church. Climbing the bricks outside was no easy task, but Sinn had done it a million times, (sometimes in a rush as well) and he found the window he usually entered through without problems. It was open, which was not unusual. Felix, the bangaa who lead the church, left it open when he knew Sinn was in town. It seemed odd that the old man let him use the church's attic, especially when he knew he was a criminal, hunted by the palace. Though for some reason, Sinn knew that the old bangaa would never betray him. He was the only one Sinn trusted, other then himself, and was the closest thing Sinn had to any sort of a family. With these new strange thoughts in his head, he slept.

Sinn headed out the next morning to see what kind of jobs (and what kind of mischief) he could get for himself today. Strolling into the Black Widow, no one spoke about his disturbance last night. The barmaid kept a good distance between her and Sinn, however.

Sinn asked the bartender, "So what do you have for me today Omem?" "I've got the perfect thing for you Sinn, just try to keep the palace out of my pub okay?" "I kill what I can..." Sinn muttered, too soft for anyone to hear. "The pay's good, about two thousand gil." Sinn's ears perked up, the mention of money was enough incentive, and two thousand was more then enough to keep a single bangaa alive for a week or so. "Where do I start killing?" Sinn asked, eyes alight with the lust for battle. "It's a wanted alchemist named Ciyep, kind of like you." He chuckled. Sinn sneered, _Yeah right,_ he thought. But before he could continue another voice came from behind Sinn

"C'mon little one, why don't you let the big boys take this job." He recognized that voice. Sinn turned around to find an old enemy. Sulrod Erim, human scum, leader of clan Venom. Sulrod leaned against the counter. "Come back to settle old debts Sulrod?" Sinn asked menacingly. "No, just come to send you packing your bags and heading out of Sprohm. Why don't you just leave now and save me the trouble?" As Sinn started towards him, Omem interrupted "Come now gentlemen, take this outside." Sinn headed out of the pub, his eyes never straying from Sulrod. He didn't trust him to wait that long, given the opportunity Sulrod would strike. He knew this from experience. "Come Sulrod, let us settle this dispute." "Indeed." Sulrod replied, following Sinn. As he exited the Black Widow, he felt a bad feeling. Sinn's instincts were right of course. Upon exiting he found himself surrounded by clan Venom. On his right was a moogle with two guns, a bangaa warrior, (Sinn tried to become a warrior once, with little success. He did not work well with a sword.) and a nu mou mage. (Sinn couldn't tell mages apart either, they all looked the same to him.) On his left were a human thief and a vierra archer. And behind him, of course, was a rotten filthy fighter.

"What you brought your friends along to join the party?" Sinn turned to face Sulrod and taunted. Sulrod chuckled, "Yes, yes I did." Sulrod had the upper hand and he knew it. Six against one were not good odds for Sinn. Especially since these were trained clan members and not cowardly guards. But Sinn knew the terrain well; he had fought on it just yesterday. Fate was not without a sense of humor. Facing Sulrod he watched the others from the corners of his eyes. In his left he saw the gunner loading his weapons. In his right he saw the judge appear, a little farther off. "Well then-" Sinn spun around and rushed towards the thief.

The thief, though surprised, was ready for Sinn and swiped at him with his dagger. He was fast, but Sinn was faster. Sinn grabbed his dagger arm with one hand and the thief's face with the other. As the thief tried to squirm free Sinn spun, his front protected by the thief's body as a deadly bullet of flame spat into the thief's chest. The gunner cursed and tried to reload, dropping his gun and some of his ammo in the process. The warrior started towards Sinn cautiously while the mage stayed back, waiting for her chance to dart in. Sulrod merely watched, preferring to let his minions do the work and weaken Sinn before he came into the fray.

Using the thief's body as a shield against the warrior's mighty sword strokes, Sinn managed to slap the warrior a few times in the face. This angered the warrior, making him swing clumsily while Sinn got three got cracks in with his fists in three vital areas. The first went to the warrior's stomach, making him double over in pain, the second to his nose, making his eyes water and blinding him, and the third finished him, clocking him in the head and sending him to a sea of unconsciousness.

The nu mou, viewing this battle, had crept towards the thief and was about to heal him but before she knew it Sinn was upon her. Sinn tackled her and ripped the staff she held from her grasp. Using it he cracked her over the head, once, twice, before she fell over. Sinn broke the staff and tossed its remains just in case she decided to get back up. Sinn spun to avoid another bullet of fiery death that sped past him.

But Sinn had been busy and had not kept his eye on the archer. The vierra had waited, and with a perfectly timed shot, gutted Sinn in his right arm. Sinn fell to his knees and that was the moment Sulrod chose to enter the fray. Brandishing his silver blade, he brought it down upon Sinn. Sinn used his right arm to block the hit, and cried out in agony as the sword cut in to the arrow wound.

Sinn tried to pull himself together. He rolled out of the way of the next attack Sulrod made and caught the arrow that flew at him from the archer. Spinning around he used the arrow to cut through the light armor on the gunner that had crept behind him. The gunner cursed for the last time and dropped both his guns as the arrow pierced his heart.

Sinn stayed low, but loaded the gun that the gunner had on him and kept it hidden beneath him. The blood loss was starting to catch up to him. The archer had her bow lowered but loaded while Sulrod approached Sinn for the killing strike. "You're a fool Sinn. You could be so much stronger if you just joined clan Venom. Think about it, we'd be unstoppable." "Never," Sinn replied "I work alone." "Suit yourself." Sulrod shrugged "I'm sure I'll get wonderful reward for catching the "legendary" Sinn" Sulrod sneered. Sinn raised the gun and fired the weapon, hitting the fighter square in the eye. (He wasn't that good with a gun either, he had aimed for Sulrod's heart.) Sulrod screamed in pain, dropping his sword and covering his face with both hands.

Sinn smiled but then realized he'd made the same mistake twice. As he turned towards the archer and the unavoidable arrow, he braced himself. But that pain never came. Sinn turned to find the archer frozen in ice. Sinn looked around to find the culprit and saw a moogle staring at him. "You're welcome kupo." The moogle said. Sinn hated moogles.


	3. Orill Blackstone

Chapter 3

Sinn pulled himself to his feet. He ripped the arrow the vierra archer had put in him out of his right arm. He winced from the pain, but did not show any other signs of weakness. Ripping a piece of his robe, he wrapped it around his bleeding arm. Suddenly, he stopped. "You wouldn't happen to know any healing magic would you?" Sinn asked the moogle. "No, sorry kupo. I'm only good at destroying things, not fixing them." _Useless moogle,_ Sinn thought.

"The name's Orill, Orill Blackstone." The moogle offered her rather small hand for Sinn to shake. Sinn continued to patch up his arm, ignoring her. After Sinn finished there was a long silence between the two of them. Sinn turned back towards the Black Widow and started walking away. Sinn didn't bother to loot the bodies of clan Venom, the job he was about to receive from Omem would be worth a lot more then the junk that belonged to them.

Orill spoke up, "Well then that's it? You're not even going to thank me for saving your kupo life?" "I didn't ask for your help, nor did I need it." Sinn replied. "Why don't you just leave and pester someone else?" This filled the little moogle with fury, "WHY DON'T I JUST LEAVE? I go out of my way to help save your skin, some cocky bangaa who decides to take on an entire clan completely by himself with no regard for his own safety or anyone else who could be passing by and I don't even get one thank you! You won't even tell me your name? After I just saved you from having an arrow split through your skull! Forget this! I should've just agreed to the contract and helped them throw you in prison!" Sinn slowed. He spun around and grabbed the moogle, lifting her up to eye level. "Listen to me moogle; I don't care what you've done. This doesn't change anything. I would kill you as quickly as I did them. Tell me about this contract." Orill, startled by the speed of the bangaa, sputtered "Well…errrr…lllook, kay, Sulrod Erim came up to me today with an job, he said that he was jumping some wanted bangaa in front of the Black Widow. He offered me an equal share of one thousand gil, kupo. I didn't really think a six on one was all that fair so I decided to try and help this poor guy out. Although now I see that this was obviously a mistake. You're just that, a wicked criminal, kupo. A cold blooded…" She kept rambling on but Sinn had stopped paying attention.

_So, he had a bounty on his head. Six people, one thousand each. Sulrod was dirty though, he would never give an equal share. _Sinn estimated a bounty of at least fifty thousand. _Well, I guess I'm moving up in the world,_ Sinn thought.

"Would you just put me down, please kupo? Mr. Bangaa? Hello?" Orill was fairly high up in the air, being short, even for a moogle. Not only that, but Orill was terrified of heights. Sinn dropped the moogle absentmindedly. She shrieked as she tumbled the short drop, landing on her back. This filled the moogle's short temper and she began cursing and shouting dreadful names at Sinn. Sinn snapped back to reality. "Do you know who I am?" Sinn asked. Orill suddenly realized how much Sinn towered over her. "Umm, no-oo not really kupo, I asked but you kinda, kinda…" Her voice trailed off. "The name is Sinn." Orill was shocked and speechless for a few moments before her voice caught back up with her. Sinn enjoyed those few moments of silence thoroughly, thinking he had finally silenced the moogle for good.

But Orill's voice came back as her shock changed to amazement. "Oh wow, really, you're Sinn. You're THE SINN. That's awesome kupo. Hey, do you always travel alone, kupo. Because I'm kinda alone right now, and if you need some company kupo, well I could be of some help. I'm really good with black magic kupo, and I could watch your back." If Sinn knew she was serious he would've laughed. But Sinn was in a rather bitter mood with his arm hurting and all, and was quite frank with her. Sinn examined the moogle more carefully. She was short, with white fur covering her entire body. She wore a white vest that looked tight, but comfortable, and blended in with her fur. She had shorts on, with a ruby red cloak that swished behind her when she walked and swirled around her vest. She looked young for a moogle, and had blue eyes that were filled with compassion for others. _Compassion,_ Sinn snorted, _compassion was a weakness._ Sinn said, "No. You're a moogle, you're still a kid, you're a useless magic user that can't protect yourself, and your mouth works more then your brain." Sinn turned and left the moogle mouth wide in shock again. (Orill was actually amazed she been left speechless by Sinn twice. She always had an answer ready for every comment, and yet, Sinn managed to hit her so hard that she couldn't respond.) The moogle's short fuse blew again and she rushed after Sinn into the pub.

Sinn asked Omem about the job again, ignoring the moogle that buzzed around him like an angry bee, jumping up and down trying to get Sinn's attention. "Hey Sinn, I see you got a new sidekick." Alewor Koad of clan Dip snickered at the bright white moogle flapping around Sinn angrily. Sinn ignored him, but Orill didn't. "Hey why don't you just shut your mouth kupo? Or do you need me to come over there and shut it for you Alewor?" Orill shouted angrily. "Hahahahaha, that's rich. Me, shut my mouth? If I remember correctly it was you who was kicked out of clan Dip for talking too much." Alewor and his friends burst out laughing. Orill, who couldn't think up any more comebacks, just gave up. She had had enough, her head hurt. She sat down at the bar, on one of the smaller chairs that she could reach without flapping her wings. She ordered a few shots of whisky to clear her mind and sagged down in her chair defeated. She did, however, manage to eavesdrop on the conversation between Sinn and the Omem.

Omem told Sinn that the job was already taken; another clan had been in while he was in the scuffle outside. "They came and left out the back door, so they never had a chance to see your fight. But I have some interesting information on this clan if you have the proper amount of cash." Sinn looked intrigued, and gave Omem some of the money he had from pawning the sword he'd acquired the other day. Omem leaned in and whispered to Sinn, "The leader of the clan was Marche, the kid the palace is looking for." Sinn smiled, _Well Marche, I'm sure the palace would pay a fine price for you. _He had a slight moment of disgust when he realized he'd be helping the palace but it quickly vanished. Gil was gil, and he needed some. Sinn asked Omem where he could find them. Orill couldn't overhear this last vital part. _Oh well kupo,_ she thought _I'll just have to follow him. _As she watched Sinn leave she downed her last shot and scurried after him. Sinn smiled. Finally, he was going to do what he did best. He was going hunting.


	4. Alleyway Ambush

Chapter 4

_It was hard to keep up with Sinn._ That's what Orill Blackstone thought for the twentieth time as she tried to keep a close distance but also not get noticed by the navy blue cloaked bangaa. Sinn was incredibly fast, even at his walking pace. Put that together with her short height and she had to almost run to keep up with him. As she turned another corner, she wondered if the bangaa was actually going anywhere, or if he had noticed her and was simply trying to shake her. _Well I won't be._ Orill thought angrily and scowled as Sinn turned yet another corner.

Sinn kept up this charade for another hour, amused by the moogle's attempt to stalk him. After a few hours though, Sinn grew bored and quickly darted down two side alleys in a row and climbed up a nearby building, leaving the moogle very tired and confused. Sinn laughed and had to duck down his head to avoid an angry glare from the little moogle. He heard her shout "Come out kupo! You f---ing scum bag kupo, show yourself." Sinn would have stayed and watched longer but he had places to go. He left Orill standing there, exhausted, angry, and frustrated.

Orill shouted a few more curse words at the bangaa before giving up. She started walking out of the alley and came face to face with Alewor Koad of clan Dip. The human looked a bit drunk but still managed to smile when he ran into Orill. "Hello sidekick, where'd your beloved bangaa go?" He mock stared around the alley for a bit calling out "Sinn, oh great mighty Sinn, where are you? Oh please save me from the mean Alewor, he won't leave me alone!" "Shove it and get out of my way kupo!" The moogle shouted some more choice words at him. "Oh but we've only just begun little moogle, why don't you stay and play for a bit." The human mage snickered and shoved her backwards. Alright, if the mage wanted a duel, he would have one.

Orill thought as she started muttering some words under her breath. A thundercloud had begun forming above Alewor's head but the drinks he'd had gave him the illusion he had great superpowers. Alewor was still taunting when the bolt of lightning came down upon him, knocking him down and numbing all his nerves as jolts of electricity flew threw him. He laughed as soon as he was able, rolling around on the ground. "Ohh little moogle, you are in for it now." "Are you still taunting me kupo? God!" Orill said in annoyance and kicked the human in the face, knocking him out. Orill was still smiling when a dark shadow fell over her. As she looked up, all she could manage was a pathetic "Oh…" The rest of clan Dip stood in front of her, armed and very sober. Alewor, while being drunk, was not stupid. He had backup. Orill managed to send two fireballs flaring at her enemies, making them catch fire and roll around on the ground before she was tackled by an enemy behind her. She cursed as her arms were held and the rest of clan Dip (the rest that was still up and walking that is) took turns beating her senseless.

Sinn strolled into Muscadet, a nearby city that still would have taken the average traveler a while to get to. Sinn was not the average traveler. Muscadet was a fairly beautiful city, surrounded by forests. Not that Sinn cared much of course, he was only there for Marche. Omem had informed him that he had advised the Marche and his clan to head there to find information on the whereabouts of the criminal alchemist Ciyep. Apparently he had been doing illegal experiments of something or another, and Muscadet had been his city of origin. Sinn figured that he could beat Marche to the punch, being a better tracker and much quicker traveler. He would find Ciyep; then wait in ambush for Marche to arrive.

Sinn was not very patient, but he figured it'd be his best chance to catch both Marche and Ciyep alive. All he needed to do was wait for the most opportune moment. It didn't take Sinn long to figure out where Ciyep was hiding, just threaten the right people and you always get correct answers. He was headed out of Muscadet when he bumped into Orill.

He cursed his bad luck, but then seeing her, thought better of it. Her white body was covered dirt and bruises from head to toe. Tuffs of hair had been ripped out. She looked like a teddy bear that had been transformed into a dog's chew toy. When she saw Sinn he could've sworn that she'd started turning purple. "Sinn you rat-kupo bastard, you ditched me in an alley, kupo you…" She kept swearing, so loud that people walking down the street stopped and turned to stare. Sinn plucked the screaming cursing ragged moogle up and covered her mouth with one hand.

_Oh well, there go my hopes of getting an early start._ Sinn thought to himself as he took the moogle to a motel. "Alright, I'd like two rooms." Sinn told the motel owner, ignoring his stare at the moogle which had stopped silently screaming and now had taken to sinking her teeth into Sinn's hand. Sinn didn't mind, as long as she was silent for a change. Besides, he was used to things cutting his hands, using them to block swords and all. As Sinn took the keys from the clerk and walked to the rooms he whispered to the moogle, "Alright, alright, fine! Wow, you are way too persistent and annoying. You can come with me. But you need to learn when to keep your big mouth shut. It'll get you into trouble you know. And would you please stop sinking your teeth into my hand? It kind of hurts..." Orill was so shocked to hear manners from Sinn she let go almost as soon as he said please. He put her gently on the ground and said. "Alright, we wake up when I wake up, which is very early. Be ready. We go to see a mage early in the morning to fix you up. Then we leave for Lutia Pass immediately. Get some sleep." He gave the room key to her and left for his own room, right next door. _Wow,_ she thought, still stunned. _He does have a soft side._ Silently, for once, she went into her room and fell asleep almost immediately.

Sinn remained seated on his bed, debating what he should do. There were two sides in him, fighting for control. One was the younger more chaotic side, the real Sinn, and on the other was a newer wiser side he had only briefly glimpsed before. The Sinn side won of course. He listened against the wall and heard the gentle snores of the female moogle. Sinn left his room silently, headed down to the clerk and told him that he wouldn't need his room tonight after all. He also cancelled the wake up call for Orill's room. Leaving the motel with a huge grin on his face, Sinn left to go find Ciyep.


	5. Battle Of Salkawood

Chapter 5

Orill was mad. She was seriously ticked. Not only that, but she was wet, cold, uncomfortable, angry, and pissed. She had woken up at lunch time in a hotel and had stayed in bed, laying there for a few minutes before it hit her. Sinn had left without her. He had ditched her. She couldn't believe it. The whole act that he'd played just to make her fall asleep and get out of his way. She should have known, and yet, here she was again, following the bangaa's steps again. Oh how she hated Sinn.

The little moogle wrapped her cloak around herself tighter and sputtered a few more curse words as she kept trudging through the snow. She had been looking in Lutia Pass for a little over an hour now. She was still sore from the day before, never bothering to take Sinn's advice to go see a white mage. She was too angry at the time and now she regretted it. As the snow and cold stung her wounds she bit her lip and accidentally drew blood. She looked around for what seemed like the ninth time wondering where this amazing battle that should be taking place was. She should have found it by now, unless… She sputtered some more curses when she realized that the bangaa had told her the wrong spot of the battle. She screamed in frustration, perhaps too loud.

Orill looked up and cursed yet again. Some nearby flans had heard her scream of annoyance and now she was surrounded by at least six of them. As the judge appeared Orill managed dive away from their icy blasts and hide behind a snow bank. She tried to recall her training from her old mentor. _If the weird jelly things were blue and were shooting ice she should use…_ She jumped up and launched a fiery ball of destruction towards the flans. The ball plowed over three of them. The flans screeched as it burned their gelatinous skin. She tried to muster another fireball, but couldn't manage it. She turned and fled for her life, but tripped over a rock and went sliding face first down a hill. Her white fur was filled with blood as she got cut again and again by the rocks that jutted out of the snow and ripped at her skin. She fell into a heap of snow, drenching it in her own blood. She managed a soft "Kupo…" as she turned towards the flans that closed in on her.

"Ho ho ho, what is this little one doing here now?" The figure asked as he picked up the tiny white moogle by her leg. The figure turned to see the flans and said "Now now, it's not nearly her time yet." The flans, though disappointed, were strangely obedient to this figure and left to go find some other poor traveler to torture.

Meanwhile in a completely different region of Ivalice, Sinn awoke to the sounds of a battle. He watched silently from his spot in the tree of Salkawood as the fight raged on beneath him. He had used trees to hide from his prey before, and even slept in them like he had done this time. Sinn's life was full times where you needed to quickly scamper up a tree. Completely hidden from his enemies Sinn watched. His sharp eyes picked up four figures battling against eight. A viera, a sniper by the looks of it, was picking out targets with ease, her shots never straying. A bangaa with a huge sword unleashing the fury of various elements accompanied with the edge of his sword to anyone that drew too close. A moogle mage blasting away at their enemies. And finally there was one last figure that Sinn knew could only be Marche. He held a blade in each hand and was the one to face off against Ciyep himself. The four were quite unlike anything Sinn had seen before, acting off of each others' warnings, working together perfectly. Ciyep was a simple criminal, no match for any of these experts.

Sinn felt his blood boil as he saw the last of Ciyep's men fall and prepared to enter the battle. Of course, it was mildly unsportsmanlike to attack while the group was just finishing and weakened, but Sinn was never one to play by the rules anyway. Besides, it was four on one he thought, the rules could step aside for this fight.

Sinn leaped down from his hiding place and walked slowly into the clearing beside the river where the group was fighting. Marche noticed him while he was binding Ciyep's hands and quickly stood up, both blades drawn and ready. Sinn smiled, this was going to be good. Marche called out to Sinn. "What do you want?" He said. Out of the corner of Sinn's eyes he saw the judge who had prepared to leave. He turned around and began to walk back towards the fight scene. He also saw the sniper on his right, loading an arrow onto her bow and the gladiator walking towards him from his left. Marche stood in the center with the moogle behind him. "I've come for the price on your head Marche." Sinn said in a low, deadly voice. "Be careful kupo, you haven't been around long enough to have heard of this one." He saw a twinkle of fear in the moogle's eyes. "Don't worry Montblanc, we can handle him." Marche said confidently. "Yessss, we'll jusssst have to sssstop him." The gladiator said.

The judge shouted out "Begin!" And with that the chaos began. The gladiator charged and swung his sword. Sinn dodged as an arc of electricity hit him from the front, sending him flying backwards into a tree. He regained his bearings and ducked as an arrow flew over his head, imbedding itself into the tree. He had to dodge two swipes from Marche next. Sinn saw his opening to attack March but it was quickly blocked as the gladiator attacked again, forcing back. He threw himself out of the way of a block of ice hurled at him by the mage which toppled the tree behind him. Sinn quickly darted up the nearest tree for a moment of peace. It was cut short, however, when an arrow flew towards him. Sinn dodged it and jumped to safety into the branches of another tree. Sinn heard a crackle of sound as a bolt of lightning struck the branch he was on. Sinn continued jumping from tree to tree, dodging the bolts of lightning and hails of arrows. He never had a second to spare. If he hesitated, he would be struck. _Perhaps it wouldn't have been that terrible to allow the moogle to follow him, he thought. _He almost immediately laughed afterwards. _Yeah right,_ Sinn thought. He felt the adrenaline fill his body. Sinn lived for these fights, it was the only time he felt truly alive. The mage changed tactics and hurled a gigantic fireball at Sinn instead. It lit up the tree and quickly spread to the other nearby trees across the forest floor, lowering Sinn's options of safe places to leap to. Sinn was in trouble, but he didn't care. He was enjoying every minute of this battle, caught up in the excitement.

Sinn was waiting for one thing in particular to happen and when it did, Sinn's felt a small grin come across his face. The moogle cursed as he ran out of magic power. Sinn leaped to the forest floor amidst the flames and darted towards the mage named Montblanc.

As he reached him he was stopped by the bangaa, who'd been taking cover from the magical display of fireworks, but still kept close enough to interfere if Sinn attacked. The bangaa swung his blade down towards Sinn, fire lighting up the blade. Sinn grabbed it with the palms of both hands. His hands burned and bled but Sinn didn't care. He was slowly forcing the blade out of the bangaa's hands when Marche appeared out of nowhere. He had to release his hold on the blade to avoid the slashes of the two blades Marche carried. An arrow flew towards Sinn but Sinn was fast enough to catch it. He used it to stab the recovering bangaa. The bangaa hissed and backed off, leaving him and Marche circling.

Sinn tried to get to the mage behind Marche, but Marche quickly caught on. He kept the moogle to his back, shifting Montblanc's position whenever he had to move himself. Sinn was at a stalemate and he knew it. He hadn't managed to get one good hit in but neither had his opponents. They were tiring though, and Sinn was still fresh. Sinn could fight for hours without ever feeling the effects of the battle till later on. Sinn ducked a slash from Marche and managed a counter, kicking him into the river. He approached the bangaa who had recovered and was left guarding the mage. The mage's power had recovered though, and Montblanc did something Sinn didn't expect.

He held up his staff and time seemed to speed up around him, or maybe, Sinn was just moving slower. "Black magic isn't the only type I specialize in kupo!" Montblanc shouted triumphantly. Sinn took two deep gashes from the gladiator's sword before he managed to step away from a third attack. An arrow flew into Sinn's leg and Sinn fell to the ground. His only advantage, his speed, had been taken away. Sinn's blood surrounded him, as if taunting him. He was losing, failing. The whole situation angered Sinn. It filled him with rage. Sinn would not lose to these weaklings! Sinn broke free of the enchantment and charged towards the mage. The bangaa stepped in his way but Sinn just trampled him, as if he were a squirrel in front of a double-decker bus. Sinn reached the mage and grabbed the scruff of his neck and kept running. He slammed the moogle's face into a tree and then into the ground. He caught the arrow flying towards him and stuffed it into Montblanc's skull. He broke the mage's neck and tossed the bloody carcass into the river.

"Montblanc!" He heard a cry as Marche ran towards him with both blades ready to skewer Sinn. Sinn easily side stepped and stuck his leg out, tripping Marche. _They were getting desperate now, and weak._ Sinn thought. Sinn grabbed a blade that Marche had dropped and held it in his off hand. He kept the blade hidden, behind his back as the bangaa approached.

"Are you readysss?" The bangaa asked and brought his blade down hard, missing Sinn but hitting the tree behind him. Sinn whipped his hidden blade, slashing at the bangaa's heart. He drove the blade all the way and impaled the bangaa before the gladiator could manage to pull his own blade out of the tree. Sinn let the body drop and hid behind a nearby tree that hadn't yet caught fire to watch Marche and the sniper enter into the clearing.

Their faces looked grim as they looked at the remains, but Marche signaled the sniper to go search for Sinn. The sniper started creeping a little bit before fading off into the trees and turning completely invisible. Sinn cursed silently. He had forgotten about that skill. Sinn turned around and saw that Marche was also gone. This isn't good. Sinn thought as pulled the arrow out of his leg. He was being hunted. Sinn was no prey; he would have to turn the tables around. He looked around for something he could use to get an advantage, and saw nothing. _Oh well,_ he thought. Sinn stepped out into the open clearing where he could no doubt be seen by the sniper and Marche.

He kept his back to the river and did something that his enemies never expected. Sinn closed his eyes. He could feel the slight breeze on his face and smell the burning brush around him. Sinn waited. For the slightest moment, Sinn heard the slight whistle of air being pushed aside as something came towards him. Sinn caught the arrow and made note of the direction it came from before dropping it. He heard the soft swish as a blade came towards him and stepped back out of the way. He heard another swish as a second attack came towards him. He caught Marche's arm and pulled him over his head, kicking him as he rolled backwards and knocking him into the water behind him. Sinn rolled back to his feet and kept his eyes closed. He knew that the sniper wouldn't be able to resist checking on Marche, especially since Sinn had his eyes closed.

The entire area was silent, lacking the singing of birds or noises of other small animals. The only sound was the crackling of the fire as it launched itself from tree to tree, covering the entire forest in flames. Sinn heard the distinct snap of a twig on his right. He turned towards it and snapped open his eyes, glimpsing the snipers figure in a tree near the side of the river before she disappeared again. He ran straight up the tree and nearly fell when an arrow flew at him, burying itself into his shoulder. But the attack had been in desperation and left the sniper vulnerable.

Sinn lunged forward and grabbed her, knocking the bow out of her hands. Sinn drew the viera close and smiled into her terrified face. "I hate archers." Sinn whispered and threw her off the tree into a small bonfire of burning bushes. Ignoring her screams, Sinn leaped to the ground to find Marche struggling to pull himself out of the river a second time.

He clocked the blond haired boy on the head and pulled him out of the river. Staring at the unconscious Marche, Sinn realized that he was a bit similar to himself. Not a true criminal by any means, but still wanted by the palace. Sinn didn't know what this boy had done, or what he was trying to do. It bothered Sinn because he couldn't understand it. However, Sinn had rules he lived by. If you don't understand it, get rid of it one of Sinn's rules. Pushing these thoughts to the edge of his mind, Sinn started dragging the boy behind him.

"Stop!" a voice shouted. All Sinn could think was: What now? As six arrows flew at him he managed a second thought. _I hate archers. _ Sinn dived behind a tree for cover from the new enemies.


	6. A Hermit In The Snow

Chapter 6

_He stared at the body in front of him. A man was there, drenched in blood. He wasn't moving. A man, he felt no pity for, no remorse. All he felt inside of him was hatred. But he looked around and saw two other bodies. Their faces blurred as he tried to approach closer and the entire scene began to fade away…_

Sinn snapped back to reality to find himself cornered behind a tree. As arrows flew past him he tried to regain his bearings. One quick glance around the corner of the trunk told him that there were six vieras, all with bows. There was also a human girl, who looked about Marche's age with bright red hair and sharp unfailing eyes. As soon as Sinn glanced he had to duck away again as another hail of arrows came at him.

"Leave now Sinn and we won't follow. Leave Marche to us and we won't smash you to pieces and hang you up to dry!" The red haired leader called out as her group approached closer towards their fallen ally and the tree Sinn hid behind. "Be careful Ritz, remember what happened last time." One of the vieras called to her as Ritz edged nearer. "Yeah, yeah I know Shara." _Ritz, he knew that name. The red head had tried to hunt him down one time, unsuccessfully of course._ Sinn had given them a beating they never forgot. Indeed, they never tried to capture him again.

Sinn didn't think he could take them this time though, not after the battle he just had. Still, Ritz seemed to care for this Marche character and Sinn couldn't resist the urge to taunt her. Sinn sped out from behind the tree, rolled and grabbed Marche's unconscious body and held him in plain view, protecting his own body. All the archers had loaded their bows but Ritz called them off. The one who had given her advice, Shara, hesitated, but obeyed the command. "Well, well, well. It seems I have something you want." Sinn tightened his grip on Marche's throat and watched as she twitched. "What do you want Sinn? Is it money? Fine, we'll pay you; we'll match the palace's offer. Just let him go. Please Sinn, what did he do to you." Ritz pleaded.

Sinn shouted out in agony as an arrow from a sniper hit him in the back. _Damn invisibility! Damn Ritz and her trickery!_ He thought as he dropped Marche and ran, losing his enemies in the smoke and flames. Sinn glanced back and managed to see Ritz smiling in joy at his stupidity. Sinn despised the fact that he had lost two paydays right then, but he had now choice. He had taken far too many wounds to continue fighting, especially against a small army of seven. Sinn retreated, heading back for the safety of his hometown, Sprohm.

Orill Blackstone awoke to find herself staring straight into the eyes of an extremely furry nu mou. "AHHH!" She screeched and rolled away, falling out of the bed and bruising herself quite nastily. "Oh yay, you're awake!" The nu mou said happily and pulled her back up onto the bed, ignoring the curses and protests of the little moogle. "My name's Nabkov and I'll be your friend for the day!"

Orill stared at the happy nu mou that was completely covered in shaggy dark brown hair. "Wait, what? What am I doing here?" "Well that's easy, you were sliding face first down a hill and you having such a good time that I imagine you passed out and scratched yourself on the head a bit." "I remember that happening a little bit differently." "Oh well, who cares, now you're here and looking as good as new! Except for that ear."

"What? What happened to my ear?" Orill shouted and felt for it, instead feeling a lob of sticky goo. "Well you see, I'm not all that much of a mage really, I know perhaps one or two spells for healing. So your ear never really healed. I just used some of my special stuff I keep in the cupboard." Nabkov smiled, "It's quite tasty really, and now if you ever want to eat your earwax, well, you can. Though I'm not sure why you would eat your earwax in the first place. It would be healthy though. For you anyway, I'm not sure if it would be healthy for me." As Nabkov started to reach for his ear Orill quickly grabbed his hand and stopped him. "Alright, look okay. I appreciate you patching me up after all that, BUT I DON'T WANT A BLOODY EAR OF JELLY YOU STUPID WANKER!" Nabkov looked at her with a hurt expression. "Please don't insult my cooking, it's really good!" "Yes but I don't want to be one of your soup dishes." Orill insisted "Are you calling me a carnivore? Do you actually think I eat people?" Nabkov looked shocked. "No I'm not calling you a carnivore, and it's a cannibal that eats his own kind anyway. A carnivore eats meat." "I eat meat" "Well then you're a carnivore." "Oh, really?" Nabkov looked rather puzzled at this new information.

"Listen, are you like, clinically insane or something?" Orill asked wearily. "No not at all, just a hermit." "Listen Nabkov… wait, do you have a last name?" "Mhmm." Nabkov slurred. "Well what is it?" "I'm not telling." "Why not?" "Because you're a stranger." "So you'll take a stranger into your house and heal them but not even talk to them." "I am talking to you!" Nabkov protested. "If my mouth is moving I'm talking." "ARGHHAAA!" Orill screamed in frustration. "Oh dear, you mustn't get stressed now, it slows the healing." Orill jumped to her feet and left as quickly as she could. Unfortunately, being as short as she was, she never really got far before Nabkov caught up to her right outside his shack. "Hey, wait. Where are you going?" "To track someone down." Orill replied "Oh, a friend of yours?" "No, a rat bastard sob." "Yay, I'll come too." "Not a chance." "Oh but I do insist. And so do my friends." Nabkov nodded towards the flans that had surrounded her.

Orill stared at him realizing that it was pointless to argue. "Fine." She sighed, _Oh well, at least she'd have some company._ "YES! We are going to have sssoooo much fun!" "I can just imagine" Orill muttered.


	7. New Enemies

Chapter 7

Ranek cursed Sinn. It wasn't the first time either. In fact he cursed Sinn, the palace guards (his colleagues), the judges and everything else that seemed to come along. In fact these past few days Ranek had cursed more than the rest of his entire life, and it was all because of that blasted bangaa.

Ranek used to be one of the top captains in his sector, in fact probably the top captain. He had been rising quickly through the ranks and soon found himself the leader of a bunch off dim witted new recruits with a shiny new badge to boot! All the bosses noticed his aptitude for the sword and natural ability for leadership. They applauded his skills and (with a bit of ass kissing) he became well known throughout the guards.

This all changed when Ranek met Sinn. Unaware of the bangaa's reputation as one of the best killers the city of Sprohm had to offer, Ranek had rushed in head on. Believing that seven blades (including his own) would be more then a match for the lone bangaa, Ranek had not put much thought into anything of a strategy.

As a result he had been destroyed, not only in battle, but also in reputation. No one really paid much attention to Ranek after that fateful battle. The soldiers and captains had their laughs at him behind his back, but most of the higher ranking bosses considered him a lost cause. Ranek couldn't believe that after one loss he was being treated so unfairly. Ranek's positive attitude was lost soon afterwards and he became more isolated. Even his good friends began to desert Ranek.

Ranek became obsessed with capturing Sinn. He spent every waking moment examining the many cases against him, searching for some sort of a pattern to Sinn's attacks. The incidents were spread out through all of Sprohm and as much as Ranek tried he could not find any kind of link to the incidents. _Perhaps the bangaa selected his victims at random, or perhaps he simply shoves around anyone when it's convenient._ Ranek thought as he scrutinized the map of Sprohm on his wall.

Ranek's new behavior soon started annoying the heads of his department. They told him that one bangaa wasn't worth this much trouble. He argued with them constantly and one day Ranek lost his temper. He lost his job and found himself out on the streets; in the very same place as the criminal he despised so.

Unusual for Ranek he looked at it in a positive way. Sitting in his office studying Sinn's patterns he could never understand him, the way he attacked, the jobs he picked, the places he went. By literally putting himself in the shoes of his enemy, he could now examine him from an entirely new perspective. _Know thy enemy; know thy self_ he thought as he stood dripping wet in the pouring rain outside the building that used to be his workplace.

Shaking his head he gathered his few remaining possessions. These included: his blade, his old captain's hat, (which his boss had been "kind" enough to let him keep) and finally, many papers on Sinn which he had to smuggle out. Marching out towards the nearby hotel, he caught his foot on the curb and landed face first into a puddle. With a groan he pulled himself back up. It was only then that he noticed the pub nearby. Even though Ranek had never had a drink once in his life he found himself drawn towards The Steel Scimitar. Looking back at the hotel, Ranek thought to himself _Ahhh whatever! Screw it! There's a first time for everything!_

---

_He approached the bodies, trying to make heads or tails of what was going on around him. He saw a women and her child, clinging to each other. They as well, like the man a short distance away, were surrounded by a small pool of blood. Their expressions had that of shock and fear. Fear, he saw that expression often. Did he do this? Was it his fault? He heard a short whimper as he approached the bodies. He spun around to see a long hallway. It was coming from down there, one of the rooms on the right. He took one step towards the hallway, but the entire scene before him spun and he fell back into consciousness…_

Sinn awoke from his dream staring at the ceiling in annoyance. _Another day another dream,_ he thought as he wondered what it could mean. _Who cares, it doesn't matter. Ignorance is bliss. _ He thought finally as he rolled over and went back to sleep.

---

Orill and Nabkov walked into Sprohm that very same night. It was peaceful, and there was almost no one left outside to here the endless banter of the two. "So I here you're a mage, is it fun?" Nabkov inquired. "Ummm, you're a mage too aren't you?" "Indeed I am!" Nabkov looked very surprised and excited at this new development. "Oh brother…" Orill muttered as Nabkov began casting small bolts of fire.

"You're out awfully late aren't you, little rosssse…" A menacing voice came out from in front of her, hidden in the shadows. "Who's your friend? He looks like he has some good loot on him…" Another voice said, this time female. "I'm Nabkov, and I'm delighted to meet your acquaintance! Who might you be?"

"Oh why hello Nabkov, I'm Sandra and I'm here to steal all your cash and valuables." A viera appeared from the darkness. She was very beautiful, clothed entirely in black, and did not even bothering to conceal the blade at her waist. "This here is my partner in crime Dozer." A bangaa came forward from the other side of the short roadway they were on. Orill thought he looked very menacing with spiked plated armor covering all of his body. A huge club with what looked like nails coming out from the wood was slung behind his shoulders.

"Ummm well, it was great meeting you all and…" Orill's eyes kept darting to the huge makeshift weapon of Dozer's. That bangaa could probably kill her in one blow with that thing. "We really have to be going now, come on Nabkov." Orill tugged at his sleeve but Nabkov was not in any mood to go anywhere after meeting some new potential friends. "No no, we can't just leave them here out in the cold all alone. They can come with us can't they?"

Orill stared at Nabkov in shock. _Does he have any sense in that brain of his? Does he even have a brain? Sure it was only two people, but she wasn't sure she could hold her own against these two. She wasn't even sure Nabkov could fight._

Sandra laughed while Dozer just stood there. She thought he looked annoyed but wasn't sure, as that armor covered every inch of his face except for eye slits and some breathing slits near the nose and mouth. "Can't we jussst call a judge and kill them already. The brown furry one isss annoying me." Dozer whispered to the giggling viera. Sandra laughed harder and whispered to her quick tempered friend, "Patience Dozer, I'm really enjoying this." She winked at him and said to Nabkov. "Well, where exactly were you planning to take-"

"I've got a better idea." Dozer interrupted. "You have sssome thingsss we might want to take from you!" Dozer drew his club and began slowly walking towards Nabkov, calling a judge forth before he began.

Something changed in Nabkov's eyes and his face took on a sharpened look. "Well, I think someone has their ax stuck in the tree of stupidity. If it's a fight you're looking for I encourage you to leave, nothing good can come of this."

The bangaa laughed and without warning charged forward to begin the battle. Nabkov nimbly dodged then threw a small blast of fire towards him. Dozer took the small hit without so much as flinching and brought the club up behind his head again, readying himself for another swing.

Orill had started to cast a bit of a stronger spell on the bangaa (a Firaga actually, the most powerful fire spell) but had to cancel it and roll out of the way as Sandra lunged in her direction. The viera twirled her blade around and struck again and again at the moogle, not really intending to score a hit but buying her companion time and slowly using up the moogle's room to move. Orill realized that it was only a matter of time before she was pushed into a corner.

Nearby, Nabkov dodged yet another powerful swing from the bangaa. Dozer hissed in frustration. _Just stay still you pesky fly, one good hit and I'll…_ At that moment Dozer saw his chance.

The furry brown nu mou attempted to escape his next blow to the left, but Dozer didn't plan on even making the blow. He slammed the club into the wall, inches in front of Nabkov's nose. Then, before Nabkov had the chance to escape, he grabbed the nu mou by the throat and slammed him against the wall. He pressed himself against Nabkov, impaling him on the spikes from his armor. Nabkov was so close to Dozer that he could see his bloodthirsty red eyes and even smell the foul stink of his breath.

"Nowheresss to runsss now, little nu mou." "If I were you, I'd let me go, right now!" Nabkov said, gasping for breath. Dozer frowned, "And if I wasss you, I'd DIE!" As Dozer pulled back his fist for a quick blow to Nabkov's head he was pushed back and flew into the opposing wall across the street.

Dozer picked himself up and looked around for Nabkov, wondering where the sudden burst of strength had come from. Then he saw it, what used to be Nabkov, was now a yellow drake of considerable size and force. "SSShit, a morpher!" Dozer muttered and prepared himself as the creature landed.

Dozer was in big trouble, and they both knew it. He needed his club, but Nabkov now stood in between him and his goal, and Dozer wasn't sure how long his armor would hold against the jaws of the drake. He wasn't sure if he could make it in time, but went for it anyway. Nabkov, with his new powerful muscles, beat him to the club and tackled the bangaa to the ground. Ignoring the pain from the spikes, he held the bangaa down and breathed a long stream of lightning at the bangaa in his metal armor. It was only when the bangaa moved no more that Nabkov moved to find his next and final target.

Orill wasn't doing so well. She was trapped in a corner, and her weakest spells didn't even prove enough of a distraction to the viera to buy her time. Orill cried out as the blade dug into her skin, she had finally run out of room. "Nothing personal darling, just looking for some cash to keep us afloat." Sandra grinned as Orill winced in pain. Orill looked up and managed to pull off a string of vulgarities despite her pain. Sandra's glee was short lived, however, when her head was crushed by the claw of the yellow drake that had snuck up on her while she was occupied.

Orill sighed in relief and Nabkov looked quite grateful as well as the judge healed their wounds. "Well, that went well!" Nabkov announced and a giant smile crossed his face. "Ugh, are you always happy? We just got ambushed by a couple of muggers!" "Yes, they were a rather charming bunch! I rather enjoyed the time we spent with them." Nabkov winked and Orill couldn't help but laugh. She decided that she loved the furry nu mou's positive outlook on everything. "Alright big guy, what do you say we call it a night, I know this great hotel which this guy ditched me in." Nabkov laughed. "Lead the way my smaller then average friend."


End file.
